Hillary Needs a Widget
Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, does not have a widget.
I refer, of course, to those faddish interactive programettes that people put on their blogs, websites, MySpace or FaceBook pages, iGoogle pages, and (even, sometimes) Vista desktops. (Brother Google calls them Gadgets.) These programs deliver news, produce calculations, update statistics, offer games and create various types of exchanges between user and widgeteer. Anybody who wants to build audience in the 2.0 space either has them, will have them soon, or are likely to fall behind some competitor who is using widgets to distribute content, deliver ads, or draw audience.
Hillary Clinton is the only front-of-the-pack candidate who does not have a widget. Her Web site offers plenty of ways to get involved with her campaign. But if you want to stick an interactive Hill-o-Widget on your blog to spread the good word, you’re out of luck.
Let’s look at the other Democratic candidates’ positions on the widgetization issue, and other uses of 2.0 technotricks.
Barak Obama has news and video widgets . 2.Oh Points for. . .his Our Story interactive timeline, and invitation to make your own. I have no idea what to make of this.
John Edwards has a Mac-only widget. Yeesh. Is Steve Jobs a major contributor? When the post-primary analysis is done, will Edwards’ failure to capitulate to Windows hedgemony turn out to be his key failing? 2.Oh points for. . .Technical Corner, a remarkably patient and detailed work of nerdania that explains to Edwardians how to use all sorts of viral technologies to support their guy.
Bill Richardson: No widget. 2.Oh Points for. . .”En Espanol” link on the top navigation
Mike Gravel: No widget. 2.Oh Points for. . .a Second Life campaign booth.
Dennis Kucinich: No widget. 2.Oh Points for. . .”Text Dennis” feature
Joe Biden: No widget. 2.Oh Points for. . .um, site map at bottom of the page?
So, Hillary: Your two most serious competitors are way ahead of you in the widget race. By not having a widget, you are keeping bad company, the folks at the back of the pack. The very people you decline to engage on the campaign trail in order to present yourself as above the fray.
Hillary: Get a widget.
This entry was posted on 11, September, 2007 at 10:16 am and is filed under Hillary Clinton, journalism, media, politics, Second Life, Web 2.0, widgets. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
Web 2.Oh. . .really? 
20, November, 2007 at 10:34 am
As much as I’d like to see a woman president, I don’t trust Hillary as far as I can throw her.
13, July, 2008 at 1:48 pm
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